The Sun Spirit
by Blue Arrows
Summary: As the Gaang race toward the North Pole, they run into their greatest enemy...the sun herself? With Zuzu and the rest of the Fire Nation in tow, will they be able to restore balance this time?
1. Nori

The Sun Spirit Chappie One

-chappie one! for those who reviewed this story, i apologize because your reviews are not here. i took this story off, then put it back on, so they are not attached to this story, but still near to my heart!

"Where's the meat?" Said Sokka. "Is there no meat around here? Aang, I thought you said you saw animals!"

"Uh, sorry, Sokka," Aang replied, "I lied."

"Well, we should at least go looking for nuts or something." Katara looked disheveled after a day of flying. The three were sitting around a hopeful pile of embers, while Appa lay exhausted nearby.

"Sure!" Said Aang, Momo flying to his shoulder, "We've got nothing better to do. First one to ten nuts wins!" Aang raced off, followed by Sokka and Katara. As they approached a clearing, Aang stood expectantly in the center, a huge grin on his face. "I win!"

Suddenly, Katara heard a slight crack behind her, followed by a muted sound of protest. She spun around, and cautiously advanced upon the source of the noise. In the stillness that followed, she pulled aside the grass to see a stunned pair of hazel eyes flash back. Katara shrieked. The girl shrieked. Katara shrieked again. This pattern continued until finally the girl stopped and said "Hi! Who are you?" Katara shrieked once more.

"What's the matter Katara? Can't you see she's just– FIRE NATION! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Sokka turned and fled, but Aang bravely extended a hand to shake. The girl took it and tried to pull herself from her crouched position, taking Aang by surprise and pulling him down on top of her. She recoiled quickly, and Aang righted himself repeated the motion, this time prepared to hold her weight.

As the girl stood, it was easily apparent that she was Fire Nation. She wore a loose grey shirt and pants, with an Amazon pleated skirt and armored vest. (Please bear with my descriptions) Around her waist hugged a thick kimono-like belt and on her feet standard fire nation boots with high heels. Shining on her left hand was an ornate red ring.

"The name's– I mean my name is Nori," She said, bowing so low her body was at a right angle. Nori looked up. Her face was thin, and her curly chestnut hair was pulled in a loose bun just above her neck, with a couple of tendrils hanging around her face. She wore a headband around the top of her head, the symbol of the fire nation attached to it in the center of her forehead. Nori looked as though she were suppressing playful thoughts.

"Aang. Nice to meet you." Aang said with an emotionless face.

"So...Why are you guys out here?" Nori asked, trying to break the awkward silence that followed. "Workers should be in the fields by now." Her expression said she was kidding, but Sokka, reemerging into the clearing, failed to notice.

"Why are you? We're not your workers you stupid Fire Nation scum–"

"Hey!" Nori looked angry now. Katara could've sworn she felt the air around Nori ephemerally heat up. "You're in _my_ woods, on _my_ land, next to _my_ house! I could– wow! Is that a flying bison? I haven't seen one of those since–" She froze. "Since my, uh, grandmother used to show me paintings of the airbenders." Nori ran over to the bison and began to pet him.

"You have a house around here?" Aang asked.

"Suure you do." Said Sokka. "Care to show us?" But Nori was already heading pointedly to the left. The three explorers hurried to catch up, but stopped abruptly just a few feet ahead. They stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the most beautiful, fertile valley Aang, Sokka, and Katara had ever seen. In the center of the lush growth lay a huge, magnificent red palace-like building with a large courtyard in front and open duel arena in back. The place was buzzing with activity. "Home sweet home. Well, not really, but that is a long story. So, where are you all staying?"

-so...here it is! nori may seem like a mary-sue, but do not be decieved! anyway, PLEASE R&R! PRETTY PLEASE with sugar on top?


	2. I Have My Reasons

The Sun Spirit

-chapter 2! yay! this is the end of the boring part, i hope! i know where this is going, so read, read away!

"So I'm Katara, this is Sokka, and Aang." Katara said. They were back at camp sitting on the ground.

"While we're all here, tell us a little about yourself." Said Aang.

"Ok." Said Nori. "My name is Nori, and I am from the Fire Nation. My father is a general, and he is away at war right now. I'm 15, and hope that the Fire Nation wins this war already. Gosh, I mean, I give– umm they get the comet, they win. Simple as that. But no, they have to wait 100 years for the darn thing to come back, and I totally wasn't expecting that to happen." Everyone just stared at Nori. "What? I'm allowed to hate those ruthless other nations."

"What do you mean! They never tried to hurt anybody. The horrible Fire Nation takes innocent lives every day!" Said Sokka.

"No they don't! And I have my reasons, OK?" Nori yelled. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Katara was sure the air heated this time. Nori grabbed Sokka's bag and threw its contents into the nearby bushes.

"Hey!" Said Sokka.

"Serves you right! Next time you question me you'll really regret it!" Aang and Katara were stunned that Nori was so hotheaded, but dared not say anything for risk of confrontation.

"Are you a firebender?" Katara questioned. Nori looked over, then down.

"No."

"Great. So you can't start our fire either." Sokka grunted. He had stopped searching for his strewn supplies and was staring at the dismal campfire.

"Sokka? Sokka, right? You are a real pessimist." Nori was looking at Sokka with a more relaxed, understanding expression.

"Yeah, I am. And just fine with that."

"I think I know what could cheer you up. What if you guys came down to my house and we fooled around there for a while? I'm sure there is lots of foooood!" Nori said temptingly. Her mood seemed to vanish and was replaced with a light eagerness.

"I'm not eating Fire Nation food." Sokka said.

"Well, I'm hungry and don't really care where the food comes from." Said Katara. "We'll go as long as we don't actually have to go inside. I don't think the Fire Nation will exactly welcome us off its doorstep."

"Sure it will!" Nori said with a smirk. "My family would love to have you. I just won't take no for an answer!" She said almost too forcefully, putting her arm around Aang and starting toward the Fire Nation palace she called home. Katara followed, though she felt very concerned with the idea of deliberately entering the house of a Fire Nation general.

-short, but the next chappie is long! and exciting! yay! PLEASE R&R!


	3. Sorry, Can't Stay For Dessert

The Sun Spirit

**this has more action and the plot picks up from here, so enjoy!**

"...So that was the entrance hall, those stairs lead to the bedrooms, and over here is the kitchen." Nori explained. She straightened as a small, well dressed female figure passed. "Welcome to the house of my father, General Oh. Would you care for something to eat prior to dinner?" The lady looked pleased. "Mother, this is Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and they are visiting from...?"

"A, uh, Fire Nation settlement in the Earth Kingdom." Katara lied. The woman, in perfect form, walked over to the four of them and bowed.

"My name is Mikir. Welcome to our home. Fire Nation is always welcome to dine with us. Nori's father, my husband, will be pleased to meet you. Nori, run upstairs and put on something more appropriate for dinner please. And fix your hair, it's sliding down the back of your head! I'll notify the chef we have guests along with my husband for dinner tonight." She beckoned to Aang, Sokka, and Katara. "Come with me."

–

Aang, Sokka, and Katara were led to a large, ornate room with a large portrait of the family hanging on one of the walls.

"Feel free to sit here and enjoy an appetizer before dinner. I would stay but I must tend to the preparations. I'll come for you in a little while."

"Why are we having dinner now? It's four o'clock." Aang questioned.

"Nori is quite particular about her rest." Said a passing servant as she paused in the doorway of the room.

"What do you mean? Why does she need to rest so early?" Sokka asked skeptically.

"I really have no idea." She said. "No one has ever seen her after dark. As soon as the sun sets, she shuts herself up in her room." The servant shrugged and then walked away.

"That is really unusual." Said Katara.

Twenty minutes later Nori descended from the stairway dressed in a sheer crimson silk dress. Her hair was pulled tighter, in a round bun on top of her head and the same headband.As she approached where the three were sitting. A mirthful smirk spread across her face.

"I assume you are now aware my father returns tonight." She said flatly after checking around for signs of the woman that claimed to be her mother.

The three looked up from what appeared to be an intense discussion. Sokka gave Nori a death glare, while Aang and Katara gazed at her more innocently, both with concern written on their faces.

"We're leaving. This is just too dangerous." Sokka stated solemnly, but he was cut off from further discussion by the voice of Nori's mother.

"Dinner is served. Please follow me. Better yet," She said, "Nori, take them to the dining room." Nori bowed and beckoned them to follow.

–

Dinner was a full out feast. This only caused the travelers to dislike the Fire Nation further, though, because this was obviously food bought with money from conquest, but they were thankful to eat a full meal. The general had not yet arrived-- Mikir said that he was just late, and Aang, Katara, and Sokka were happy to avoid meeting him. They were therefore disappointed at the second entree when Nori and Mikir rose to greet General Oh.

He was a staunch man, with brown hair and traditional sideburns. His face was stern, and he immediately reprimanded Nori at not having worn any shoes to dinner. She looked sheepishly at her feet, almost concealed by her dress. Suddenly his expression flashed from surprise to fury as he looked past her to the three explorers seated at his table. The rest was a flash, as he turned to Nori and picked her up off of the floor by her collar, her bare feet dangling beneath her. He called his guards while Mikir screamed.

"You invited in the AVATAR!" He roared. "You will regret it!"

"Father, I didin't know.." She croaked. "..forgive me.."

"You liar! You knew what he looked like! And you!" He pointed to his screaming wife. "This is your fault too!" Mikir looked torn between helping her daughter and running for her own life.

"GUARDS! GET THEM!" Aang, Sokka, and Katara got up to run as Nori's body went limp. General Oh dropped her to the floor as the three took off up a flight of stairs.

"You! Your coming with me!" Yelled Oh as he grabbed his wife's arm and dragged her away from Nori's unmoving form after them.

Left, right, left right. Up some stairs, down some others. A dead end. The three turned to face the soldiers chasing them. Katara sensed water behind the wall next to them.

"I've got it!" She yelled as she pulled a huge body of water through a crack in the wall next to them. _Thank goodness for bathrooms,_ she thought as her wave crashed over the soldiers. Closely followed by the other two, Katara ran through the mass of limp, wet soldiers laying on the floor and flew down a flight of stairs right back into the entrance hall. Sokka wrenched open the front door when suddenly Aang stopped.

"C'mon Aang, we have to go!" Sokka yelled.

"Nori!" he yelled as he pointed to her, still laying on the floor. "We can't just leave her here! Just think what Oh will do to her! It would be our fault!"

"There's no time!" Said Katara.

"I have to!" Said Aang as he ran over and picked up Nori. The soaked soldiers appeared at the top of a nearby staircase.

"Let's go!" Sokka yelled as Aang used his airbending to race out the door.


	4. And Back to Zuko

The Sun Spirit Chappie 4

-so this is the last chapter i will post before i wait for reviews, since i put all four of these up in one sitting. if you want to see what happens, then you have no choice but to review!

"_I'll never leave you," he said. Nori looked into his light brown eyes. _

"_Promise." _

"_I promise." He smiled. Nori leaned in to kiss him. _

"_I love you." She said as suddenly his image started to fade. "Kado? What's going on?" He was almost gone now. _

"_I will never leave you..." He repeated as he disappeared._

"_No! Wait! You promised!" She yelled into the emptiness._

Nori became aware of a strong breeze blowing over her. There were faint voices in the back of her mind.

"What do you think is in her bag?" A boy's voice asked.

"I can't believe that you want to invade her privacy like that!" Katara's voice retorted. "I sure hope Nori is ok... She's been unconscious for almost an hour."

"Katara! Check this out! There's gotta be at least 500 gold pieces in here!" It occurred to Nori that the boy was Sokka. Then she remembered what had happened. It had all been such a flash... He father had recognized the Avatar, and then everything had gone black... Then the dream, and Nori's heart ached from a scar that would never heal. Her mind moved to the present and Sokka's words processed.

"Don't even tell me that you are looking through my stuff!" She yelled, sitting bolt upright. Bad idea. Nori's head throbbed painfully, and she was forced to lay back down.

"Nori! Are you all right?" Katara's face leaned over Nori's. "See Sokka? I told you that was a bad idea!"

Aang's stern face came into view. "Why did you take us to your house if you knew that your father would recognize us?" Nori looked away, a smile on her face.

"Because it was the right thing to do, Avatar." There was no trace of sweetness in her voice.

"Wait a second... you must've known who Aang was before you got to the house if you were leading him into a trap... how?" Nori's eyes met Sokka's, just a hint of a smirk in them. She changed the subject.

"Where are we?" She scanned the sky..._sky?_ Nori stared into each person's eyes with an expression of fear before looking over the edge of Appa's saddle, only to see nothing but clouds below her.

"You...did not...take me...with you!" She was breathing heavily. "I'm not even on your side! Think what my family must be thinking! Right now they are saying, 'Our daughter is a traitor to the Fire Nation! Her engagement is off!' They have probably already officially disowned me! Great! Just great! I am on a bison, with three traitors, and no shoes." She was absentmindedly playing with the ring on her left hand. "The disgrace! The dishonor!"

"We were saving you!" Said Sokka.

"Oh. Well, great job." She said with much sarcasm. "So? Are you taking me back or what?"

"Back? We have to get to the north pole as fast as we can! Aang needs to learn waterbending!" Katara replied.

"Great job, Katara!" Yelled Sokka, his voice cracking. "Now she knows where we're going! If we drop her off anywhere, she'll tell everyone she knows and we won't even make it inside!"

Nori sighed forcefully, then turned around, not facing them, obviously to pout. However, she was doing the exact opposite. Nori was celebrating and smiling.

yet another cliffie! zuko in the next chapter! reviewing is fun, easy, and a good idea! you know the drill! review please!


	5. Capture

The Sun Spirit

Chapter 5

So while you read this chapter, remember: Nori is mad a lot, but not truly angry. Most of the time, she is just mad because she is supposed to be. She's also really rash in dealing with anger. Just so ya know. Also, thank you to reviewers!

Disclaimer: So I hear I should have a disclaimer, although I really don't understand the purpose, if you owned A:TLA you would probably not write fics here, you would just tell your story on the show. But ok, I admit it, I don't own Avatar.

here it is!

"But I _really_ need to get another pair of shoes, these are killing me! Just a moment for relief for a poor man's feet!"

"No, uncle! This will end up just like it did the last time we stopped for that worthless lotus tile!" Iroh's pleading expression told Prince Zuko that he was losing this yelling match.

"It will take no time at all! And who knows, we may well find some leads!" Fire was coming out of Zuko's closed fists. He turned and marched out of Iroh's room, and the general rose to address the helmsman about the detour.

–

General Iroh seemed to be enjoying himself at the tailors' despite the furious expression of the 16-year-old standing next to him. Zuko turned and walked out of the stuffy place. It was a clear day, and everything around looked lush and green. His frown darkened. Then he noticed the signs posted around town. They had the avatar's face on them and an address, and the glue on them was still oozing, as though freshly stuck there. The prince's eyes widened as he turned, entered the tailor's, and returned dragging a complaining uncle toward the address on the posters.

It was a long walk, but once the pair arrived, they could see that something had definetly happened in this wealthy home recently. There were Fire Nation soldiers buzzing around everywhere, and inside sat a hysterical woman on a very fluffy red couch. Several attendants were attempting to calm the small person at no avail. Zuko's eyes settled on her.

"The avatar was seen here?" He asked. The woman did not look up but responded with choking breaths.

"My daughter- sniff- N-n-n... he took -sniff- her... came f-for dinner -sniff- there was a girl and b-b-boy, -sniff- my baby!" She wailed and broke down again. The servants trying to soothe her scowled at him.

"Where is the avatar now?" He said with anticipation. The woman seemed oblivious to the fact that he was royalty, and was now crying so hard that she got up and ran off to another room.

"The avatar and his friends are gone, and they kidnaped my mistress." One attendant responded crossly before rising to chase the crying woman.

"There's no need to look for her," said a guard. "The girl's father has already searched the entire area."

"I'm not after the girl." The prince replied before grabbing his uncle and once again dragging him toward the ship while trying to ignore another wave of complaints over old shoes. This was a lead and he was not going to let it get cold.

–

The sun was approaching the horizon, and everyone was happy to oblige to Nori's demand that they land. During the days' flight, she had refused to speak to, look at, or sit near (if the other side of Appa's saddle counts as far) any of the 'traitors'. Nori only broke her silence to occasionally complain about her lack of shoes, how cold she was, how wrong dragging her from her home was, or how Sokka invaded her personal space by looking into her bag, but Katara could sense that she was attempting at conversation without breaking her pride at a promise not to speak to them.

The place where camp was set was beautiful, on the bank of a still lake, surrounded by woods. Though she was invited to stay with them, Nori refused with little vigor, as if the slowly sinking sun was draining her of her energy. She looked at them sadly and then disappeared into the trees. Aang claimed he was going to get more firewood and took after her, and only after he was gone did Katara and Sokka realize that there was already a big pile of sticks nearby.

As he moved adeptly through trees, Aang wondered about Nori. He didn't like her that way, but he was curious as to the inner workings of such a strange person. First she was nice, then all of the sudden she was venomous. She seemed delicate, but had a tough shell. Aang heard rustling nearby and ran to the source of the noise. Seated on a rock was Nori. There were tears in her eyes, and she was watching the last of the sun's rays fade. Aang couldn't help but stare, rapt at the almost surreal person only a few feet from him. Surreal was really the word, he thought. Her skin was now pale, and becoming less and less pigmented as the sun disappeared. She was beautiful, her soft features comforting at first glance, but something about her was repellant to Aang. He searched in his mind for a word, looking away. Could it be...evil?

"Kado..." She whispered.

Aang looked up. Nori was gone.

–

Nori had returned to camp early that morning. When Aang started to question her about Kado, she looked shocked and changed the subject, insisting that they find civilization so that she could get clothes more suitable for travel. Once in town, everyone found something interesting to pass the time while Nori searched for shoes. Katara was particularly enjoying the many Water Tribe shops set up here. She wandered about from store to store, committing to memory a couple of items she would ask Nori for money for later. Aang was following her from a distance, trying to look interested in other things but really enjoying watching Katara. Sokka, of course, was looking at various tools of weaponry. Near midday, they gathered up, Nori clad in her home country's armor and boots, both very similar to the ones the three met her in, and everyone else with some purchase or another following much begging of the Fire Nation girl. It almost seemed as though she was warming up to them, but she still retained her haughty attitude whenever possible, as if she was avoiding getting attached to them.

At last they were back in the air. Aang was enjoying an aged, intricate airbending toy that had completely captured his attention, while everyone else was lounging around. Suddenly, a large net flew over their heads and landed on Appa. Everyone screamed as they fell out of the sky toward the water below.

"Quick! Get it off!" Yelled Aang as the ocean neared.

"Look!" Katara pointed to the Fire Nation ship hot on their trail. "It's Zuko!"

_You can't firebend in this body, remember? You aren't supposed to! _

_But I have to!_

_No! _Nori closed her eyes. _You won't! If you do then he will destroy you, and the world you have worked so hard to preserve! _She turned to help tear the net off of Appa. But she was too late. The ship had been approaching faster than they expected, and the four were strewn across the metal deck as soon as a tangled Appa made contact with it. Aang was the first up, and he stood a good thirty feet from Zuko, poised to attack. Nori looked at Zuko, then stared, but there was no time. Fire, air, water, and a boomerang were headed in every direction. Sokka was climbing up a ladder to the helm, pursued by two soldiers. Suddenly he slipped, and lost his grip in surprise, hurtling toward the ground.

"Sokka!" Yelled Nori, surprising both him and herself. She ran to help, but realized too late that there was nothing she could do except break his fall with her own body. The falling mass of Sokka hit her and Nori could have sworn she heard something crack. Nori's head smacked the ground and the world swirled. Sokka shook off the pain and rushed back into battle. Katara was at the greatest advantage, since they were surrounded by her element. Nori ducked as a blast of fire flew her way. She screamed.

"Hey! What are you doing? I'm from the Fire Nation you idiot!" She wailed. Unfortunately, this fact was not keeping anyone from attacking her.

"Sokka! Quick! I need your boomerang!" Aang yelled as he approached his bison. Sokka came quickly and Appa was soon cut loose.

"Katara! Nori! Hurry! Get on!" Katara whipped one last soldier with water before being pulled aboard, but Nori refused.

"I'm not coming with you! I'm staying with my people, where I can have some–" But her words were cut short as she was tackled by a soldier. Nori resumed her screaming as other soldiers approached. She looked up at Aang with fear in her eyes, quickly turning to rage as everyone still failed to see her as anything other than the enemy. The bison was already airborne, however, and there was no way they could go back and help her, so all Aang, Katara, and Sokka could do was watch as the ship became smaller and smaller.

Whew! That was a long chapter for me. Hope it was exciting!Also, could someone help me out? I still don't understand what half of the computer symbols people use mean. Like, ZukoOc? I'm sorry if you are appalled by my lack of computer knowledge.

R&R! thanks!


	6. and there will be no Honeymoon

Chapter six

Hey all! I am so happy to have this chappie finally up! So maybe I lied a little about soon, but time is all relative, right? I had it all together and yet... somehow it didn't make it to paper (or the computer if you want to be technical :S ) As I said in the note, I forgot to mention that this takes place just before Aang and the gang arrive at the North Pole. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and review- seriously guys- I read stories all the time and 40 people have read but 6 reviewed. What is up with that? It only takes 10 seconds to say 'nice job'. Nothing more required. GRACIAS!

And also: Tai Li totally stole my idea of the skirt... malo

"The sun sure is bright today, isn't it Zuko? When I was a general, that was an omen that the sun spirit was in our favor- a sure victory for the Fire Nation!" Iroh commented as he and Zuko walked across the deck of the ship. Zuko wore his usual scowl, eyes moving down to the hard metal floor after glancing upward toward the vaulting, cloudless sky- _odd for the winter_, he thought.

---

A soldier was sweating. His face not concealed by a mask, he could clearly see the furious expression of the girl sitting nearby him. He was party sweating out of fear that this person would break free- her face looked like she might- and partly because it was so hot in the small room below deck. The soldier looked around for a window, but saw only a tiny rectangle on one side. When he thought about it, he had never felt this unusually hot anywhere on the ship...

It was only a few moments more until the prince and the general joined the soldier in the holding room. Nori sat in the center, wrists and ankles chained to a metal chair with a stare that might cause third degree burns. Zuko did not make eye contact as he entered. Iroh pulled out his trusty red fan and began to furiously fan himself.

"Why don't we have more ventilation in here? This is just like that-" he paused in his fanning, blinked while still staring at the wall, and then turned his head sharply toward Nori. Before turning to him, her expression changed to one of intent listening, as though she was trying to hear a faint whisper. Their eyes met, and Nori eyes widened and her mouth opened a little. She frowned and breathed out heavily.

"You...see me?" she mouthed. No one else took notice. Nori looked away, stunned, but regained her 'composure' and put on her angry face to look at Zuko, still shaken and glancing occasionally at the general. Iroh, on the other hand, was concernedly shifting his gaze from the girl to the prince to the window, through which the sun was just visible. Finally Zuko spoke.

"Where is the Avatar?" His voice was -you guessed it- cold and demanding. Nori now had her nose in the air in the opposite direction. She did not respond.

"Where... is the Avatar?" He said with even more malice, if that was possible, leaning over her. Nori looked at Iroh, then Zuko without changing her expression.

"You have no respect," she said in a vulgar tone, "... you call yourself a prince of _my_ nation?"

"I'm not playing games!" Zuko kicked the chair, knocking it sideways a little. "Tell me where he is!"

"I'm not either! Now let me go, you moron, I'm from the Fire Nation, and-" Zuko blasted a ball of fire right past her face.

"I need to go to the bathroom!" the soldier shakily said in the quiet that ensued from the punch from Zuko. He almost ran toward the door. He thought he might die of heat stroke if he stayed in there any longer. Nori was facing the wall, clearly trying to calm down.

Between heavy breaths, she said "I always thought my fiancee would, at least, recognize me, even if he hated having an arranged marriage." The soldier stopped. Dying of heat stroke was so worth hearing this.

The whole room stood, frozen in time. Zuko's surprised eyes overwhelmed his face. _Nori_, he breathed. Iroh, with too much eagerness, was the first to act.

"Let's celebrate the arrival of this guest of honor with a feast and some tea!" He was already on his feet, and he was smiling a very odd, too happy smile. Zuko watched his uncle quizzically. "Don't say a word, Iroh." The general and the girl were looking at each other. Her informal reference to a ranking officer was unusual, to say the least, and displeased Zuko even more. He frowned again.

"No. Tell me where the Avatar is going, and we can all enjoy some tea," he said through clenched teeth.

She grimaced. "I promised I wouldn't tell."

"Then you are a traitor."

"How dare you!" She tried to move but was unable. "Let me go, you idiot, and then maybe if you ask me with more humility I will tell you."

"Unlock Nori." Zuko barked to the soldier still idle in the doorway. Nori stood and folded her arms, head held high.

"Now I expect to see more decency around here." She did not try to hide the disdain or sarcasm in her voice.

"Now tell me where he is." Nori looked down at her ring, and then held it to her ear.

"What was that?" She listened to the ring intently. "I see. It says, " she held it up, "that I am to be treated with honor, and if not, I may report such behavior to my family, who will then get you in big trouble," she smiled at Iroh, "and you know what happens when you get in big trouble with me. But you are from the Fire Nation, and a prince after all, so I might as well tell you that he was headed for the North Pole to learn Waterbending."

here it is! i love you all, thank you for reading this far! i've written you a haiku

kind words in a note  
stylishly in a review  
please do so right now

like it? if you don't want to comment on the story you can comment on my newly acquired haiku skills! thank you!


	7. The Waterbending Master

The Sun Spirit-- Chapter Seven

It has been months and I haven't updated, so I apologize to everyone. I sorta rethought this a bit, but the previous chapters don't change, so yeah. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are very sweet. I'll be mailing your bribes...I mean thank you letters, shortly. Yay for short author's notes! R&R!

---

Zuko sat quietly in his room, fuming. It had been a long day. First the incident with Nori, followed by his uncle acting funny and avoiding Nori for the rest of the afternoon,(he even skipped music night), with the day ending in a surprise visit from Zhao, only to have his crew taken to fight in the North Pole.

"It is a beautiful night for a walk," came a familiar voice from his open door. "Care to join me?" General Iroh was looking at his nephew expectantly. His expression faded. "Or, you could just stay in your room, and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy."

"I would love to join you," Nori said, appearing just behind Iroh. "If you'll let me, General."

"Certainly." he said, with a slight bow. Zuko's only remaining eyebrow arched, but he remained silent. The two turned and walked away.

---

"I see your little trip into the Spirit World has had more impact on you than I expected." Nori said as she walked beside the retired general in the fading sunlight. "I didn't think you would be able to see spirits in the Physical World."

"How did you... I mean, where is Nori?" the old general asked.

"Nori is long gone. Her soul is still in this body somewhere. I slowly replaced her, filling her up with my life, until there was nothing of her left. Her body became fused with my spirit, which is why this conversation is going to be cut short very soon." Nori looked at the sun, which was touching the horizon. "It was hardly a shame when she was gone, though, she wasn't useful anyway. She wasn't a bender." Iroh looked away.

"One must be careful not to judge a book by it's cover," he commented, dipping into his vast collection of proverbs.

"Don't reprimand me!" She retorted, pulling up a fist between them. "Do you know how hard it was to act like Nori? Always kowtowing to everyone? She was weak! I almost had the Avatar, but putting on a show for her parents, followed by you're little interruption, meant I lost him!"

"How did you know it was the Avatar?"

"The bison really gives him away, don't you agree? Not many of them around anymore. _What a shame_ that the Avatar is the last airbender." She said sarcastically. There was a long pause. "I must be leaving you now," Nori said in the fading sunlight. Her skin and clothes had turned almost to a crystalline blue. "We will meet again." and with that, her shape disappeared, turning to nothing but a silver-blue smear streaking toward the sun as the last rays of day faded.

General Iroh watched for a while until the streak of spirit followed the sun below the horizon, a stern expression on his face. He turned to continue his walk, but stopped short when–

BOOM! The earth shook with the force of an explosion. Iroh turned to search for the source of the sound, but didn't have to search for long for an answer as to what it was.

"Zuko!" He yelled as he jogged back toward his nephew's burning ship. As he arrived at the dock, he slowed to a stop as smoking debris landed around him.

"Zuko..." The old general whispered.

---

Well, I am very proud of being able to pick this story back up, I was ready to drop it for a while. Please review, even if it is to yell at me for not updating(or thanking me for not punishing you with updates in this story)! I should have another chappie up shortly!

Whoohoo!

- The Arrows -


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